Thursday, January 29, 2009

Get Yer Arnoldbucks Here!

Back in December, it was reported that California's budget shortfall had become so dire that the 8th largest economy in the world -- yes, in. the. world. -- would have to start issuing IOUs if the legislature couldn't resolve the crisis. Arnold proceeded to call an emergency session and legislators came to a compromise. So, what did our great post-partisan Governator do?

Worked across the aisle with Republicans and Democrats to sign a compromise in the best interests of Californians?

The budget crisis has many fathers, but one in particular stands out - Arnold Schwarzengger. For five years he railed against taxes and government spending, and because he failed to lead the state toward a stable budget, California is going broke. Yet the media persists in speaking of Arnold as a strong post-partisan leader. They don't tell Californians that he is a failure, that he is more responsible than anyone for the IOUs - particularly since he vetoed the Democratic majority vote budget plan that would have finally neutralized the 2/3 rule.

And where does Arnold's veto put ordinary Californians?

Sometime next week California is going to begin running out of money, and instead of sending checks that to people that are owed tax rebates, financial aid, or other forms of state assistance, they will either have their payment delayed or receive an IOU. This will make our recession even worse, and will make it more difficult for the state to begin economic recovery.

Yet the media still persists in portraying Schwarzenegger as some avatar of post-partisanship when the reality is that, as Robert says, he is the father of this meltdown. So, my friends at theCourage Campaign have decided to literally stamp his face and name on the crisis with the issuance of Arnoldbucks.

As California's economic crisis worsens, the last thing this state needs are IOUs instead of real economic stimulus.

But unless the public knows to hold Arnold Schwarzenegger accountable for this mess, he will blame Democrats instead of working with them to end the budget crisis. [...]

That's why we decided to try something a bit unorthodox -- raise awareness by using humor to highlight the absurdity of these IOU's, or what we are calling "Arnoldbucks."